On Jul 26, 2006, at 9:26 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Now you are talking about Prius and its "transmission is > continuously-variable gearing". No such thing. The "transmission" is > an electric motor/generator. There is a second motor/generator > attached to a gasoline engine (it should have been diesel for even > more > efficiency). Power is shunted around between all the components, both > electrical power and mechanical power. But ultimately an electric > motor is attached to the drive shaft and the continuous nature of > it is > due to electric motor characteristics, not to any fancy gearing.
Interesting, thank you. I'm still learning how the Prius drive system works. The notion of "continuously variable transmission" and what you describe is effectively the same in practical use, isn't it? I agree that the nomenclature is fuzzy. However, I am confused by your description. My understanding is that at highway speeds the gas engine is what's driving the wheels, not the electric motor, but that the electric motor's output is fed in to assist the engine's power output as required. This is indicated on the in-dash monitor panel as well. How can this happen if, as you way, "ultimately the electric motor is attached to the drive shaft"? Wouldn't the output power be limited to the electric motor's 67 hp in that case? It certainly doesn't accelerate from 70 to 90mph as if that's the case. I haven't yet found a detailed drawing or photographs of all the components in the Prius' drive system to be able to fully understand how it works. If you know of any available on line, let me know. G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
